


The Winter Beast

by ZephyrOnTheWind



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Beauty and the Beast Elements, F/M, Female Apprentice (The Arcana)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-05-03 22:22:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14578890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZephyrOnTheWind/pseuds/ZephyrOnTheWind
Summary: A cursed town? A magical beast? A stranger? What could possibly happen!





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Here is a Beauty and the Beast AU that is going somewhere probably

She was new in town, a traveler who had finally decided to put down roots. While the tavern owner and the town magician knew her well, the rest of the town saw her as a stranger. And as the summer burned into autumn, Tereis realized that the familiar town was a stranger to her too. She had never seen the roads littered in golden leaves, or the mountains in the north turn fire red.

As the equinox approached, Tereis could feel the town become restless. They didn't seem to care that Tereis was a stranger, or that she was even there. She didn't know what caused this shift, and didn't seek one out. But one found her anyway.

Tereis was grabbing bandages as Asra kept pressure on the farmer's wound. She could hear Asra scolding the man about paying attention while in the fields.

"I know, I know, it's just that it's coming up and my two girls are both old enough now, and what if this is the year-"

The farmer quiets as Tereis walks back in the room to give Asra the bandage. "The year that what?" she asks, walking behind the patient to grab the right herbs.

The room is quiet, save for the rustling of cloth.

"You didn't tell her?" The farmer asks Asra, a quiet rage behind the question.

"She doesn't need to know." The dismissal is cold. Tereis can feel his magic making the temperature drop.

"What don't I need to know?" She hands the herbs to Asra, but otherwise ignores him as she speaks to the farmer.

"For the past five years, on the fall equinox, a shadow" he grunts as Asra wraps his arm too tight, "a shadow takes one of the girls, and returns her on the spring equinox. She doesn't remember anything, except the phrase 'This will all end when one is kept'."

"Your wound will heal. Now leave." Asra stands up and gestures to the door. The farmer looks from Tereis to Asra, shakes his head, then walks out the door.

"So you get to decide what I do and don't know?" Tereis turns on him, fire in her voice.

"The magic won't affect you, and if it did I would stop it." Asra waves his hand in the air, as if to brush away her worries.

"You know that's not how magic works! And even if it was, why didn't you stop those other girls from being taken?" Her finger jabs the center of his chest, but he just steps back and turns away.

"I don't care about the others, so why would I bother?"

"For the last time, I didn't choose this town because you are here, I chose it because my plants chose it! Because this is the perfect climate and aura for them! Not because you're here!" Tereis storms out of the room, and heads for her cabin on the edge of town.

As she approaches her home, she feels her plants call out to her. The common flowers in the yard perk up, while the potted plants inside try to lean towards her, some tendrils wrapping around her fingers. The herb garden doesn't react, but continues to warmly glow in her mind. She twirls her fingers in the air, watching one of the plants dance as it reaches out for her.

Eventually she rests her hand in its reach, feeling calmer and more levelheaded. The plant curls around her fingers and wrist, and she can hear the other plants sigh in relief. She rubs a thumb along a leaf, then soghs and stands up. It reluctantly lets go of her hand, returning to it's usual shape as she prepares her dinner and watering can.

~~~

Tereis keeps to her house and gardens the next few days, tending to her plants as they help her keep calm. She gets swept up in the rhythm of caring for them, the only interruption being a knock on her door one evening. The flowers bristle and hide their blooms from Asra, recognizing him as the source of trouble for their friend. After a few minutes of being ignored, he walks away, and the calm returns to the home.

The plants let go of her wrist, the flowers reopen their blooms, and she finishes her dinner.

The second visitor that night disrupts nothing. The flowers do not turn, the plants remain still. The herbs still radiate their healing warmth as the shadow sweeps through the door and takes Tereis away.


	2. Meet and Greet

Tereis wakes up slowly, stretching as her magic curls around the room. As she sits up, her magic becomes more frantic, unable to find her plants. She barely takes in the fact that she's somewhere else, that this room is large and opulent, that the bed is the best she's ever slept on, before her magic starts to run wild, stretching and searching for something to reassure it. Her back burns as it pulls at her mind, twisting and tugging with nowhere to go.

Tereis rushes out of the strange room, desperate to ground herself. Her magic rushes ahead of her, failing to find anything to lock on to. Finally, she finds herself in front of a large window, a garden sprawling in front of her. Her magic latches onto the blooms and ivy, and she calms down enough to find a door to the garden.

She lays down in the middle of the flower bed, uncaring about the dirt. The plants lean away until she is settled, then lean towards her, the ground ivy wrapping f around her arms and curling against her neck. Her magic slowly calms, sinking into the roots of the garden. Time passes as Tereis stares at the sky, a light breeze swaying the plants around her.

"Did you not like your room?"

The voice pulls Tereis out of her reveire. She slowly gathers her magic into herself before she sits up.

A beast is hunched on the garden path. Its face is bird-like, but its body is build like a wolf, the fur long and unkempt. Fangs glisten in its mouth in an attempt of a smile, its tail curled around its paws.

Tereis stares, taking this all in. The creature begins to fidget under her gaze.

"Okay now I'm even more confused."

The beast stares at her, head tilted to the side, before a cawing laugh comes out of it's beak.

"Well, I'll admit that's a first. My name is Julian Devorak, would you like breakfast?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just imagine an incredibly shaggy red wolf with a bird face that can stand on two legs sometimes, I don't know how anatomy works so good luck


	3. Breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going through my inbox and saw someone actually commented on this.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> ...whoops

Julian leads a quiet Tereis to the dining room, where an old woman is setting the table.

"You better not have scared her off, the stove made enough for three today." She reaches out behind her and raps the beast on the head with a spoon.

Julian raises a talon. "I did nothing!" He pauses, and his posture slumps. "Well, I don't think I did. I definitely didn't mean to do anything. Except bring her to breakfast, that is."

Tereis quietly walks around Julian, making her way to one of the made seats. She sits down, watching the beast and old woman continue to squabble.

"How many years and you still don't know how to be nice to a lady?"

"How many years and you still expect me to have opposable thumbs?"

"You do have opposable thumbs, they just have claws on the end now!"

Tereis snickers over the food, setting down the spoon to cover her mouth. The two residents pause, looking at her. Julian's face shifts, relief in his eyes. The woman looks back to Julian, then smacks him with the spoon.

"Eat your breakfast."

The woman takes a seat at the table, and after a moment Julian does as well. The meal continues in silence, until Tereis turns to the old woman and speaks up.

"I didn't catch your name, by the way. I'm Tereis."

"Mazelinka. Are you holding up okay?"

"For only finding out about this yesterday, I'd say I'm doing very well."

Julian looks at her, tilting his head. "Are you not from town?"

"Oh no, I just recently moved in. No one bothered to tell me until they thought it was relevant." Her face darkens, thinking back to the argument the day before.

"Well, at least you can think of ways to get back at them, even if you forget them when you leave."

"Oh, right." She goes back to eating, the rest of the meal continuing in silence.

Tereis finishes her food and goes to stand up, only to realize she doesn't know what to do. She doesn''t have her own garden to tend to, no patients to help, no books to read.

"So, is there something I'm supposed to do while I'm here?" She looks between Julian and Mazelinka, but their lips are pressed shut. Julian raises a paw and swipes at his mouth, but it doesn't move.

"Let me rephrase that, what can I do while I'm here?"

Julian suddenly gasps in air and coughs, while Mazelinka smiles proudly at her.

"You're a quick one, I like you."

Julian gets over his coughing fit, then turns to Tereis. "I could give you a proper tour of the garden first?"

"That would be nice."


	4. Garden Walk

Julian leads Tereis to the gardens, talons clicking on the floor.

"So if walking on all fours is more comfortable, why do you stand on your hind legs?"

He stops right before opening the door, turning his head towards you. "If sitting on the floor works, why would you buy chairs?" Tereis stares down at him as he waits for an answer, until he sighs and breaks the moment, opening the door in front of him.

The air outside still has the morning bite to it, but the sun keeps it from being chilly. Julian keeps the lead, following the paths through the flowers and shrubs. "This is where the red flowers grow, while we keep the yellow and pink ones over there. There's some white ones scattered all over the place, but I don't know if they're on purpose or not." He winds his way around the outside of the building, Tereis trailing behind to look closer at the different species of plants. As the tour goes along, she realizes how big this place is.

"So where are we?"

Julian's speech about how the plants are particularly green today halts, and Tereis turns to actually look at him. He's still turned away from her, but she can see him pawing at his beak again.

"This is a very large house for just two people to live in."

His beak pops open. "It does feel empty most of the time."

"So it is just the two of you here then."

"You figured it out."

The two of them walk in silence for a while longer, Tereis mulling over the conversation and the events at breakfast. Eventually, they get to a less pretentious looking part of the grounds.

Tereis gets in front of Julian and turns to look at him. "Is this the kitchen garden?"

His beak snaps shut, and she sees it.

"This is the kitchen garden."

His beak pops back open, and she sees the faint spark of magic again.

"Yes."

"You didn't always look like this."

"Yes."

"You were a goat in a previous life."

His beak clacks and it closes.

"You can only tell me when what I've figured out is right, not when its wrong. And you can't answer questions about whatever curse is going on here."

Julian tilts his head, looking Tereis over again. "You really are quicker than the others."

She turns back to the herb garden. "It helps when you have your own. It gives you a mind to look for it."

He takes a few steps towards her, but doesn't come up even with her. "Is that what this morning was about?"

"I needed to calm down."

She strides away from him, walking into a plot of thyme. Julian stays where he is, watching her examine the plant. Her movements are gentle and sure as she moves from one plant to the next.

"You could be in charge of the gardens if you want." Tereis' head spins to look at him. "You sounded lost over breakfast, it's something you could do to pass your time here. And it looks like you enjoy it. The plants definitely like you too."

As he rambles, Tereis slowly makes her way back over to him. She crouches in front of him, and his speaking slows.

"Thank you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess it's finally getting somewhere? Kinda?


End file.
